About the Professors

Aline Gubrium, Ph.D.

Prof. Aline GubriumAssistant Professor
Telephone: 413-545-2244
Email: agubrium@schoolph.umass.edu
Campus Address: 304 Arnold House

Aline Gubrium is Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Dr. Gubrium received her Ph.D. degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Florida and is presently exploring the narrative dimensions of women’s reproductive health. She is currently conducting an interview-based project on women’s experiences with Depo-Provera and a Five-College study on students’ and staff members’ experiences with Depo-Provera, Norplant, Implanon, and the IUD.

Dr. Gubrium’s interest in gender socialization stems from her previous work on several ethnographic projects dealing with rural women’s sexuality and drug use issues in the southern U.S. Her dissertation, entitled Growing Up Stories: Narratives of Rural African-American Women, focuses on local constructions of gender socialization and the ways that the study participants take up two discourses–Afrocentric and American Dream–as resources in assembling their narratives.

In the past, she has worked on projects dealing with institutional perspectives on violence against women in Java, Indonesia, and the social construction of victim and transmitter of HIV in a South African context.

Tom Schiff, Ed.D.

Health Educator
Telephone: 413.577.5133tschiff.jpg
Email: tschiff@uhs.umass.edu
Campus Address: 342 University Health Services

Tom Schiff is a Health Educator at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and also serves as an Adjunct to the Social Justice Education program in the UMass School of Education. Dr. Schiff received his Ed.D. degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Organization Development. His experience includes over twenty years of experience as an educator, counselor, trainer, and consultant with a focus on organization development and human relations. His work has ranged from residential treatment with abused boys, psychiatric and substance abuse rehabilitation work, organization development and human relations for schools, businesses, and non-profits, violence and substance abuse prevention for high school and junior high school students, and more.

In his role as a Health Educator, Dr. Schiff has varied emphases, some of which include men’s health, violence prevention, addressing racial health disparities, outreach to International students, and tobacco education and cessation. Dr. Schiff’s research interests include masculinity and health, developing men’s leadership to challenge violence, and pedagogical approaches to dismantle heterosexism.

Personal interests include running, hiking, whitewater kayaking, music, and most especially cross-country skiing.